Off-market sales—properties sold without public advertising—have increased significantly over the past few years. Technology has enabled agents to match properties with buyers more efficiently, making genuine off-market transactions more viable.

But “off-market” has also become a marketing term, sometimes used in ways that don’t serve vendor interests. Let’s separate the legitimate uses from the problematic ones.

What “Off-Market” Actually Means

A true off-market sale is a property transaction that never appears on public portals. The vendor deliberately chooses not to advertise publicly, and the agent sources a buyer through direct outreach, database matching, or buyer networks.

This differs from:

• Pre-market campaigns: Properties that will eventually list publicly but are shown to select buyers first
• Quiet listings: Properties marketed within agent networks but not on portals
• Delayed listings: Properties temporarily withheld from public advertising

Each approach has different implications for vendors, and the terminology is often confused.

When Off-Market Sales Serve Vendors

Genuine off-market transactions make sense in specific circumstances:

Privacy requirements: High-profile vendors (executives, celebrities, divorcing couples) may have legitimate reasons to avoid public exposure. An off-market sale protects privacy while achieving a transaction.

Tenant-occupied properties: Selling with tenants in place can be complicated by open inspections. Finding a buyer privately—often an investor willing to maintain the tenancy—can be smoother.

Distressed sales: Vendors facing financial difficulty may prefer private transactions that don’t signal desperation to the market.

Highly specific properties: Unique properties with obvious buyer pools (neighbouring land owners, specific industry requirements) may genuinely not need broad marketing.

Time sensitivity: When vendors need rapid settlement and a known buyer exists, avoiding the time required for public campaigns makes sense.

When Off-Market Sales Don’t Serve Vendors

The risk of off-market sales is that vendors don’t achieve the best possible price due to limited competition.

Standard properties in competitive markets: A normal house in a well-traded suburb benefits from exposure to the full buyer pool. Off-market sales in these circumstances often leave money on the table.

Agent convenience masquerading as vendor benefit: Sometimes agents propose off-market sales because they’re easier—no photography coordination, no open inspections, no marketing campaign management. Vendors pay for this convenience through reduced competition.

Database buyers with outdated requirements: Agents often match properties to buyers in their database, but those buyers may have moved on, changed requirements, or found other properties. Limiting the buyer pool to known contacts can exclude the actual best buyer.

Artificial urgency: “I have a buyer ready to go” can pressure vendors into decisions that don’t serve their interests. The urgency is often manufactured.

Technology Enabling Off-Market Transactions

Several technology categories have made legitimate off-market sales more viable:

AI-Powered Buyer Matching

Platforms like AI consultants Brisbane analyse buyer behaviour patterns to identify likely purchasers for specific property types. This enables more confident off-market matching because agents can identify genuinely interested buyers, not just contacts in their database.

The technology matters because it improves match quality. A good match between property and buyer makes off-market pricing more competitive with what public marketing might achieve.

Agent Network Platforms

Platforms connecting agents across agencies—allowing them to share off-market opportunities—expand the buyer pool without public advertising.

These networks vary in quality and coverage. The best ones reach enough agents that off-market properties genuinely access a broad buyer pool. The worst are small networks that don’t meaningfully expand reach.

Digital Transaction Documentation

When transactions happen quickly, technology that streamlines contract generation, signing, and settlement coordination enables smooth execution.

Electronic signing, digital conveyancing, and integrated transaction management reduce the friction that might otherwise slow off-market deals.

Buyer Qualification Technology

Pre-qualifying buyers for financial capacity before showing properties enables confident off-market discussions. Agents can be certain that interested parties can actually transact.

The Agent’s Ethical Obligation

Agents have legal and ethical obligations to act in their vendor’s best interests. For off-market sales, this means:

Full disclosure: Vendors should understand what they’re giving up by not going to market publicly. The potential price premium from competition should be honestly discussed.

Genuine justification: There should be a real reason for off-market beyond agent convenience. If the primary benefit is saving agent time, that’s not a vendor-serving reason.

Competitive process where possible: Even off-market, agents should seek multiple potential buyers rather than presenting a single option.

Price evidence: Off-market pricing should be justified by comparable sales evidence, not just what one buyer is willing to pay.

Written authority: Vendors should explicitly authorise off-market approaches, understanding the implications.

When to Recommend Off-Market

Based on my experience, I recommend off-market approaches when:

• The vendor has explicit privacy needs they’ve articulated
• There’s a genuinely obvious buyer (adjacent landowner, etc.)
• Property characteristics make public marketing ineffective
• Time constraints make full campaigns impossible
• Tenant situations create genuine inspection difficulties

I don’t recommend off-market when:

• The property would benefit from competitive tension
• The only “benefit” is avoiding campaign costs or time
• The agent hasn’t exhausted options for expanding the off-market buyer pool
• The vendor hasn’t been fully informed of the trade-offs

Market Trends

Off-market activity tends to increase when markets favour sellers—buyers become more willing to pay premiums for access. It decreases in buyer’s markets when vendors need maximum exposure to find purchasers.

The technology infrastructure for off-market transactions will continue improving, making the approach more viable for appropriate properties. But technology doesn’t change the fundamental question: does this approach serve the vendor’s interests?

Practical Guidance

For vendors considering off-market:

• Understand what you’re giving up
• Ask what price evidence supports the off-market offer
• Enquire how many buyers the agent will approach
• Consider a hybrid approach (quiet marketing period before public listing)
• Get independent advice if unsure

For agents:

• Be honest about trade-offs
• Document vendor informed consent
• Expand buyer reach even in off-market scenarios
• Have clear criteria for when off-market serves vendors
• Don’t default to off-market for convenience

The growth of off-market technology is generally positive—it enables transactions that serve all parties in appropriate circumstances. But technology doesn’t remove the need for professional judgment about when those circumstances exist.

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Linda Powers consults with real estate agencies on ethical practice and technology adoption. Her 25 years in Sydney real estate included navigating the evolution of off-market practices and their technological enablement.